A language learners’ forum

Long time lurker, first time post!

So as many of you may well know, Assimil's Using Spanish for English speakers is notoriously...flawed. For a while after finishing the With Ease course, I've been just trying to use the language, reading and listening as much as I can for pleasure and chatting when I have the opportunity. While I have definitely continued to improve and learn, I really would like to have that concentrated study time like I did when I worked through Assimil as well. Based on what I can find, both Linguaphone and Living Language are comparable to the Assimil format but whose more advanced courses for Spanish are generally held in much higher regard. I don't know if they are out of print or what but I can only seem to find them second hand, only the manual/pdf, or the incorrect edition.

If anybody can point me in the right direction that would be a tremendous help. If you have used of these courses and or other similar courses I'd love to hear what you think.

Muchisimas gracias a todos!

The Linguaphone course is still in print and can be bought from Linguaphone, or second hand on ebay. The Living Language course is not in print, so you have to find that one on ebay or whatever. Both are still in copyright.

Thanks! I'm looking at the linguagphone site now and I'm not sure if they ship to the US or not. Either way I'm contacting them. Thanks!

thevagrant88 wrote:Thanks! I'm looking at the linguagphone site now and I'm not sure if they ship to the US or not. Either way I'm contacting them. Thanks!

My local library has a copy of Living Language Ultimate Spanish Advanced. Have you thought about checking out your library? Don't forget about interlibrary loans.

The Living Language series are all over the place in the US. The library is a good place to start as previous poster said. Also, I personally found the Living Language "Beyond the Basics" perfect for what you are looking for. It is super cheap. Those programs also go by other names depending on when they are published. They are good. Linguaphone could be tough to find. I was never able to find one. You could wait a bit longer until Assimil makes the new Using Spanish available in English base. It should be coming soon. You may also want to consider the other Assimil Spanish courses which are considered the same level as the one you did but certainly have a lot of advanced lessons. The other Assimil books will have material that is more advanced than the Living Language "Advanced." Assimil made three beginner/intermediate programs. Check them out.

James29 wrote:The Living Language series are all over the place in the US. The library is a good place to start as previous poster said. Also, I personally found the Living Language "Beyond the Basics" perfect for what you are looking for. It is super cheap. Those programs also go by other names depending on when they are published. They are good. Linguaphone could be tough to find. I was never able to find one. You could wait a bit longer until Assimil makes the new Using Spanish available in English base. It should be coming soon. You may also want to consider the other Assimil Spanish courses which are considered the same level as the one you did but certainly have a lot of advanced lessons. The other Assimil books will have material that is more advanced than the Living Language "Advanced." Assimil made three beginner/intermediate programs. Check them out.

By the way, I don't agree that the "old" Using Spanish is bad. I'd definitely do it if you like the Assimil format. It might annoy you a bit but the "issues" with it are not that bad.

By the way, I don't agree that the "old" Using Spanish is bad. I'd definitely do it if you like the Assimil format. It might annoy you a bit but the "issues" with it are not that bad.

I agree that the old Assimil "Using Spanish" course is quite usable. It is not perfect, the English translation is quite stilted, but this should not be a major impediment, particularly if English is your native language. You will understand what the Spanish text means, and "get" the gramatical rules, and can translate back to the Spanish as you wish. The Spanish portion of the text was written by a native Spanish speaker, and that ultimately is what counts.

The only issue is that the book can be very hard to find in used bookstores, including online bookstores, and when found is often outrageously priced.